Opinion on gun control

Roman

10/22/19

English

Youth Voices post 1

Why do people think that owning a gun is part of their freedom?

A major issue in modern America is the controversial topic of gun control. In recent years gun related violence has gone up and people are wanting more and more restrictions. It seems like gun control is a good idea that would benefit people but I personally disagree with it.

I believe it’s a good idea for people to own a weapon to protect themselves, others, and their freedom. For example if a family member is getting attacked and you have access to a firearm I think it’s a good thing to use that weapon to stop the attacker by hurting them or if necessary killing them. It’s cruel but it’s important to protect your loved ones. Also, as stated in the 2nd amendment to the Bill of Rights “A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed”. This means that the right to bear arms is an important part to protect other rights in the instance where those rights are being violated or taken away. Many politicians nowadays want to take away firearms, the most prominent for me being democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke and his “mandatory buyback plan of high power firearms”. I really disagree with this as I believe it makes people vulnerable, especially in the instance where the United States government starts oppressing its people, which I think is happening right now.

Despite the protection a gun can offer how it’s used ultimately comes down to the person who uses it, but not everyone should have access to one. I think background checks are very important and I think that the more strict they are the better, but not so much so that few people have them. As stated it’s good to have one for your protection and to protect the people you care about or even someone in danger. However it’s never ok to use a gun, or any type of weapon, to attack innocent people. Whenever I hear about a shooting it disturbs me and I hate seeing how willing people are to kill random people. I also don’t like it because usually when this happens the weapon used is blamed rather than the person who used it. Guns and other weapons don’t kill people, people kill people. No matter what type a weapon is simply a piece of machinery and it doesn’t have sentience so it can’t decide what it does. I think this ideology of blaming what’s used rather than the person who committed whatever crime is a big factor of political division in the United States. I think these debates also push an excuse to take guns from people who put them to good use and make people vulnerable. 

In conclusion I think a gun is an important part of preserving your freedom and protecting people, but not everyone should use them. How one is used is up to the person and I believe there are both right ways (protection of self and others, recreational use such as hunting) and wrong ways (killing random people, using a gun in a hostage situation) to use one. As long as you meet the requirements to have one I think it’s a good idea to own a gun.